A real pain in the....

Sunday night Trav started getting a pain in his shoulder, like a really bad pain. He couldn't lay on his back, and was pretty uncomfortable. And by Monday night, the pain was awful. I could see a lump on his back, and it just felt like a big muscle knot.

Now, one of those bad things that come along with cancer, is the worry EVERY single time something comes along. Trav gets a bad cough, and we worry. A funny ache, we worry. And a lump on his back, you can bet, we were worried.

He called the doctor on Tuesday and they got him a muscle relaxer hoping that it would work itself out, and he might feel some relief. The nurse told him to take it and see how he does and if he was still in pain by Thursday, to call and they would figure out what was going on.

Well, you know he was in a lot of pain, because he tried those muscle relaxers one night, and knew the pain wasn't going anywhere, and called the Dr. on Wed. instead. (Pansy) (I kid, of course).

Today he went in for an MRI to see what was going on, and just prayed that it wasn't that darn cancer.

And it isn't! :)
But he does have yet another ailment. :(
Bursitis?

From Wikepedia: Bursitis is the inflammation of one of more bursae (small sacs) of synovial fluid in the body. The bursae rests at the points where internal functionaries, such as muscles and tendons, slide across the bone. Healthy bursae create a smooth, almost frictionless gliding surface making normal movement painless. When bursitis occurs, however, movement relying upon the inflamed bursae becomes difficult and painful. Moreover, movement of tendons and muscles over the inflamed bursae aggravates the inflammation perpetuating the problem.

Fun eh?

They called in a prescription for some steroids today, and I'm really hoping that he will start to feel a little better during the week.

Now, I've been asking in my prayers to be able to be with Travis when he is old and gray. I'm starting to wonder if I'm unclear in my requests with the big guy upstairs...
I don't mean I want him to get all the old people diseases right now, I just want him to live for a really long time, long enough that it is age appropriate for him to get arthritis, and bursitis...

Tonight I shall make my request a little clearer. ;)

And if you'd all like to pray that this medicine will help, that would be grand. With his crappy spine, swollen ribs, and now bad shoulder, he could use a break!

Also, Bone scan next week, just to see how things are looking. Let's all pray for his rib to be lookin' good, and for the rest of his bones to be free of the bad stuff.

Thanks for checking in.

{100}

Today marks Trav's 100th treatment.
I wondered briefly if we should celebrate somehow, but then realized maybe this isn't the type of thing you throw a party for...
At any rate, I'm just glad they are working and grateful at all the time they have given us.

We may have jumped the gun a little in deciding the radiation side effects weren't so bad. The radiation onc. really thought that he would have started experiencing pain a few weeks ago, so we thought we were in the clear.

The other day he complained that it was aching a bit, and as the day went on it got progressively worse. There are 2 really swollen spots that you can visibly see and feel. He's having a hard time even rolling over in bed, and I watch him walk around clutching his side a good chunk of the time, though I don't think he realizes he doing it.

Now, when I ask him how he's doing, he, of course, says "It's not that bad, I'm OK."
He's such a liar.

We both know that if the radiation works, the pain is worth it, but boy it's hard to watch him feel so crappy. I imagine he will get a scan in a few weeks to see whats going on in there. The hardest part about the rib pain is that it will probably be there for a while making for a very long summer.

And to top it off he has 6 or 7 cankers and they are pretty large, and pretty painful. I think once those clear up he will feel a little better.

I know this post is sounding quite negative and it wasn't meant out to be that way. We have so much to be thankful for, and know that soon enough his mouth will clear up and hopefully his pain will be lessened. I'm just hoping that happens sooner rather then later.

Superhero?

I've been asked about a million times how Travis is holding up, and each time it reminds me I should probably update this blog for those of you who are reading it. (Hello to Trav's cousins who I hear are reading, we appreciate you keeping tabs on him!)

Our radiation onc. made it pretty clear that this would be pretty hard on Travis.
She thought because of the high dosage of the radiation, mixed with him weekly treatments, he would be pretty exhausted. Also, they thought that his rib would be extremely tender. And he would get a pretty red sunburn type rash on the area the radiation was aimed.

We braced ourselves for it.

I gave myself pep talks about how "I will be supermom this week" when Trav comes home too tired to think.

He promised he would take days off work when he was plum tuckered out.

The ladies promised to be quiet when he was tired, and not to tackle him too much.:) Sienna still prays for Daddy's rib each night.

But truth be told, the side effects weren't that bad.
My man is like a superhero.
A Dr. Pepper drinking Superhero.

Oh yes, he had some really bad, really tired days. And his stomach felt a little weird (like I mentioned in the previous post), but it was manageable. And after the first week instead of getting worse (which was expected) he got a little better. His rib has ached a bit more, but not to the point they thought it might get. He even thinks he might give golfing a try here in a few weeks! And the sunburn never really came. (Just a nice mocha tan.:)

Now, this is all according to me. Travis tends to tell everyone that "he is fine" even on his worst days, so he could be lying to me and it is worse then all this, but usually I can tell when he is fibbing, and he really seems to be okay right now.

We are so thankful to have it over with, and so thankful that it has been better then expected. He goes in tomorrow for his 90something treatment.

Do you remember how much we hate Thursdays around here?
They are like a gloomy dark cloud over the week.

Tonight I am just feeling thankful that he is willing to put himself through so much for us.
I married up.
I love my husband.

As always, thanks for checking in!